Forbidden Fruit: An ItaSaku Drabble Series
by bakaneko0518
Summary: Formerly titled Stockholm Syndrome. Now that he had her, there was no way she would be getting away. Not that she wanted to, anyway. A drabble series varying in length and theme, but all centered around ItaSaku. Rated for language and situations.
1. Escape

_**A/N:**_ Thought I'd try my hand at some ItaSaku XD Hopefully I don't butcher it too much lol. As said in the summary, these are for the most part one-shot drabbles varying in length and themes- the constant plot point throughout this drabble series will be that Sakura is with Itachi and Akatsuki, though she may or may not be an "official" member. Itachi's crows will always have the same role too- they are his "eyes" I guess you could say. They keep watch over Sakura at all times, and alert him when she isn't where she's supposed to be. Also, unless otherwise stated, Sakura is 20 years old, and Sasuke has returned to Konoha.

With that said, please read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome! XD

_**Disclaimer:**__ It all belongs to Kishimoto. _

* * *

"Oi, Dobe, I think she's coming around." 

_Huh? Sasuke-kun? _Sakura slowly opened her eyes and waited for them to focus. The first thing she saw was moving green blur and an all too familiar red and blue fan that was painted on a kunai pouch. She was able to deduce that she was slung over Sasuke's shoulder, and he was running with her through the trees.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! You're finally awake! That's great! I was worried teme over here hit you too hard," Naruto's voice was cheerful as ever and appeared to be some distance away. She heard Sasuke grunt in response to his verbal jab.

_What… hit me…? _

"What… what's going on?" Sakura asked, her voice a bit hoarse. She was feeling slightly groggy. The pink haired kunoichi raised her head to look at the sky, searching for something.

"Huh? We're rescuing you of course; don't tell me you've got _amnesia!_" She didn't have to look to know Naruto was more than likely giving Sasuke the glare of a lifetime.

Sakura kept her eyes to the sky, searching…. _They have to be around here somewhere… Surely he knows already… He has to…_

"You guys shouldn't have come. You should've just left me." She clenched the fabric of Sasuke's shirt, trying to mentally get her head around what was happening. Last she could remember she had been walking around outside his hide out, taking in the scenery around the place for once since he was away at an Akatsuki meeting, and next thing she knew she was here, with her ex-team mates again.

"Huh? Sakura-chan, of course we should have! We've been searching for you for over a _year_ now! Don't tell me that those creeps _brain washed_ you on top of everything! Geeze… I guess it doesn't surprise me, considering what you were wearing when we found you."

"I still say you should've let me stay so I could find and kill Itachi," Sasuke muttered.

_There! There it is!_ Sakura's eyes widened as she spotted a lone crow in the sky, following them. _It's one of his, I'm sure of it. _Suddenly she felt panic. That would mean he was probably fairly close by.

Sakura molded some chakra into her hands and slammed them into Sasuke's back using half her normal amount of force; this helped to push herself off from Sasuke's back, and sent him falling out of the tree tops in the process. She landed on the ground not far from him and turned to look at the both them. Sasuke was on his knees glaring at her and Naruto stood above on a tree branch looking confused.

"What the hell Sakura?" Sasuke growled at her.

"Go back to Konoha, now! You have to go back without me!" She shouted and focused a large amount of chakra into her foot and stomped the ground. The ground split up around Sasuke and uprooted the tree Naruto was in, causing them both to jump to safety. Sakura used the distraction to turn and run back towards the way they came.

Sasuke was on her in seconds. He grabbed her arm and she jerked backwards, nearly falling on her butt. Naruto appeared next to her, and crouched down to look up at her; the quizzical look on his face was still there.

"What's going on Sakura-chan?"

"Why the hell do you want to go back there so fucking bad?" Sasuke spat, his grip on her arm tightening. She felt tears fall down her cheeks. _It's no use… It's no use…_

And then he was there. She felt him before they did, because she was so used to him. Naruto was tossed to the side like a rag doll and an arm clamped over the one that was holding Sakura in place.

Menacing crimson sharingan met shocked onyx.

Sasuke visibly stiffened as he took an unconscious step back and activated his own sharingan. Itachi looked down at a trembling Sakura who met his intense gaze with fresh tears in her eyes. His eyes shifted back to his younger brother.

"Don't touch _my_ things, Sasuke."

Sasuke was sent flying, and Sakura slumped to the ground. It was really _him_, and not a body clone, she realized. This was very, very bad news for her ex-team mates. Rarely did he ever handle such trivial things without one. The fact he didn't this time meant that it wasn't trivial, and it most certainly wouldn't end well for Naruto or Sasuke.

She vaguely heard his retreating footsteps as he slowly advanced on Sasuke, and almost missed the mumbled words he directed towards her.

"You should know by now that I won't let you leave."

Sakura closed her eyes as darkness started to overtake her. No, of course she knew. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to leave him anyway.


	2. Of Baths and Boredom

_**A/N:**_ Thanks so much for the reviews! They've really boosted my confidence about writing this pairing. Feel free to offer constructive criticism too!

Remember what I said before about these all being in the Naruto-verse and Akatsuki related? Yeah, forget I said that. There'll be AU's too, though for the most part these drabbles will take place in Naruto-verse. I'm also thinking about changing the name to Forbidden Fruit.

As for this drabble, yeah… originally I had intended for it to be completely innocent, but kinda got carried away XD Enjoy!

_**Disclaimer:**__ Everything belongs to Kishimoto._

* * *

The water splashed around in the tub as Sakura, who had grown tired of lazing about, took to rigorously cleaning herself with a washcloth. Her bath partner made no visible acknowledgment of the activity, choosing instead to keep his eyes closed and continue resting his arms and head against the white lacquer of the tub. 

They'd been traveling through the country of Grass when Kisame and Sakura both (rather vehemently) decided that is was time to stop being cheap by camping outside and actually get a room for the night. The ever stoic Itachi didn't seem to care either way what they did.

Sakura scrubbed her arms, face and neck with the soapy cloth. It felt good to finally take a bath in a _tub_ and not a river or lake. She was also very excited to sleep on a futon for once and not the ground.

The kunoichi paused in her vigorous scrubbing and glanced over at Itachi. For once he had decided to grace her with the very lovely, and very arousing, image of seeing him with his hair down. The guy never, ever took that damn hair tie out of his hair, even while sleeping. They had always taken baths separately up until now so she assumed bath time was the only opportunity one had to see the Uchiha Prodigy in all his long haired glory.

And what a sight it was to behold. His normally charcoal colored hair was quite damp with water, changing it to a shiny black. It fell well past his rounded shoulders and disappeared into the soapy water, with some stray wet stands clinging to his neck and pectorals and biceps. With his eyes closed and face relaxed the way it was, he was a picture of youthful beauty. One could gaze upon this perfect image and almost forget that they were looking at a wanted S-class criminal. Almost.

_He doesn't look a day past 18. Damn Uchiha and their perfect genetic make-up…_

Sakura scowled briefly at this thought, but it was dismissed quickly and replaced with a soft look of reflection. He was truly a beautiful man. The pink haired kunoichi began feeling a familiar tingling sensation in her abdomen. She raised her hand and moved to touch his hair, she so wanted to run her fingers through it…

"Sakura," Itachi finally spoke; his hand clasped around her wrist, halting her previous movements.

Sakura blinked and wondered why he was stopping her, if she somehow had invaded some personal bubble of his that he'd decided to erect out of the blue. Normally he never minded her touches.

His onyx eyes opened and he regarded her lazily. A few moments passed with the pair simply staring at each other. He still held onto her offending hand and Sakura went to pull it away, mumbling an apology, but his grip tightened. Itachi stared at her intently now, and let go of her hand only to grab onto her hips with both of his hands; he hoisted her on top of him with very minimal effort. Soapy water splashed out of the tub and onto the floor below. Sakura blushed despite herself, as she noticed, no- _felt_ his excitement and that the way he had positioned her on top of him was so he was just barely touching her entrance.

She was now even more aroused. Itachi had always baffled her- she thought men constantly craved sexual pleasure from their partners, but Itachi could go without it for two weeks or more sometimes. He was like a sex camel. But when he did come to her with that intent, it was not for just an hour or two, and he always made it well worth her while. It was as if the camel turned into a ravenous lion, and all the days or weeks spent without any consummation suddenly exploded into a fierce surge of sexual energy.

"I'm bored," He stated, the heat in his gaze was easily seen now and dark eyes soon bled to a familiar crimson. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Itachi..."

Itachi began lowering her down until he filled all of her. She gasped and grabbed onto tufts of raven hair on either side of his head, her emerald eyes never leaving his crimson ones.

"Let's do something _fun_," The pinwheels in his eyes started to turn, and Sakura lost herself within them.

Neither of them would be getting any sleep tonight.


	3. Escape II

**A/N: **And here's the follow up to the first drabble. I'm playing with the idea of maybe doing ANOTHER follow up, a prequel to this one and #1, but it's still up in the air. Next drabble will be an AU, and I'll post that next week sometime.

Feel free to point out any spelling or grammar errors- I wrote this pretty quickly and edited it once, so I'm sure there's still some mistakes I overlooked.

Enjoy! XD

_**Disclaimer: **Yep, you know who it belongs to._

* * *

Sakura woke to find a pair of red sharingan bearing down on her. Immediately she gasped and jumped up from where she was resting, a damp washcloth that had been on her forehead fell into her lap. 

"You're awake." An all too familiar voice said next to her.

Her eyes stared at the sharingan. Now that she was fully awake, she found that they didn't belong to Itachi- how could they, when they were staring at her from inside of a jar, and the man himself was seated at his desk reading a book?

_Sasuke._

"What… what happened?" She managed to tear her eyes away from the jar and look at the man next to her. Not once did he meet her gaze. An overwhelming sense of dread began to overcome the kunoichi. Itachi appeared to be unscathed and completely nonchalant as per the usual, and on the table next to him rested the eyes of her ex-crush, and her ex-teammate. What had become of him? Was he dead? And what of Naruto? Did he finally fall into the clutches of the Akatsuki?

"Nothing fundamental." Itachi said as he flipped through another page in his book.

Sakura felt water begin to form around the edges of her eyes. Sasuke was dead. He had to be.

"Is… Is Naruto ok?" _Please, Kami, at the very least… let Naruto be safe._

"Naruto-kun is fine. So is that foolish little brother of mine, regrettably. But, his life as a shinobi is over."

Sakura felt her fears evaporate and were replaced with overpowering relief. She wiped at her eyes while thinking, _Thank goodness, thank goodness they are both alive._

"So, you let them get away?" She inquired, keeping her focus on the Uchiha in front of her, and not the pair of eyes that lifelessly seemed to watch her every move. This time, Itachi looked briefly at her, as if to say "Are you serious?" and went back to his book.

"No, the Kyuubi decided to make an appearance and sprout three tails before I could finally put an end to Sasuke's pitiful existence. I am not yet equipped to deal with the Kyuubi in a state such as that, and…" He paused, and finally regarded her with his full attention.

"I couldn't have the Kyuubi playing Momma Bear with _you_ as well. I needed to get you out of there before that scenario occurred."

Warmth spread through Sakura's chest like fire. He wanted her back here, with him. She had always known, but hearing him actually voice it… even if it was in a round about way… Unconsciously she clutched the sheets and felt herself blush under his intense gaze. All too suddenly she remembered the last words he spoke to her before she fainted.

_You should know by now that I won't let you leave. _

He broke their gaze and returned to his book. Sakura looked down at her hands, feeling a twinge of guilt. He thought she had tried to leave. She had to set things straight, tell him what really happened.

"Itachi, I… I didn't try to leave. I—"

"Even if you had, it wouldn't change anything. Remember that." Another page was turned. Sakura mumbled a yes, and then pulled the sheets back and moved to get out of the bed. She had to get away from those eyes on the desk that were watching her. Accusing her. _Traitor. You let this happen. You fell in love with my brother, the murderer. The criminal. Traitor. Traitor. Traitor, _the eyes said.

"Sakura," Itachi's voice broke her through her inner turmoil. His hand moved and tapped on the top of the jar, holding the eyes of his younger brother.

"I require your help with these," Onyx eyes glanced her way. "When you're ready,"

She looked at him, and then looked down at her feet. How could she deny the man she loved the thing he most wanted, most needed to have? Guilt flooded her emotions again. She really was a traitor to them all- her family, her friends, her village.

"Yes, I will help you, Itachi."

Sakura got off the bed, approached the young man and put her arms around him, hugging him from behind. She breathed in his familiar scent and nuzzled his neck, before saying, "I'm glad you weren't hurt."

One hand reached up and stroked her long roseate hair, the otherturning to the next page in his book. His fingers caressed her cheek, her lips,and then fell to rest on the table again.

"Get something to eat; you haven't had food for about two days,"

Sakura gave him one last gentle squeeze and let go of him. She walked back over to the bed and grabbed the robe that was laid out over the bed post for her. Her favorite robe, his robe. She donned the traditional Akatsuki colors and exited their bedroom, and headed in the direction of the kitchen at the far end of their temporary hide out.

She was a traitor. There was nothing that could be done about it. She wasn't going to leave Itachi, she couldn't. She loved him. Needed him. And, she knew that despite his twisted nature, he needed her too. The feelings she had for the older Uchiha were unlike anything she had felt for the younger.

In time, the feelings of regret, of guilt, of missing her friends, would eventually fade. Haruno Sakura had already made her choice, chose her path long ago. She would not become an Akatsuki member, but she would follow Uchiha Itachi wherever he went, no matter where it took her.


	4. Honesty

**_A/N:_** Modern day A/U, set in Tokyo. Sakura is 21, Itachi is 26. 

**_Disclaimer:_** _Kishimoto owns all._

* * *

It took Haruno Sakura only one night to realize how quickly one's life could change- how one random glance across a bar could turn a seemingly normal albeit somewhat lonely life completely upside down. 

Everything had happened by sheer accident. She was never supposed to have gone to the club that night. She was _supposed_ to be alone in her apartment drowning in her sorrows over Sasuke's engagement to Hyuuga Hinata with a pint of ice cream and her hospital TV dramas to keep her company. But no, Ino and Naruto would have none of that. They had both dragged the pink haired pre-Med student out of her humble abode (after Ino spent considerable time on Sakura's clothes and make-up) to the new club that had recently opened in Shibuya. Of course, the minute Ino laid on eyes the infamous Shiranui Genma, she left her depressed best friend's side in the blink of an eye and stayed gone for the duration of the evening. Likewise with Naruto, who ended up getting completely shit-faced and after making a very lewd pass at Sakura (who promptly smacked him upside the head) wandered away onto the dance floor, moping as he went. 

It was there, while she was alone and drinking her fruity alcoholic beverage, that she glanced up and spotted him across the bar. Her immediate thought upon seeing him was that it was Sasuke, but as she continued staring she quickly found that it wasn't Sasuke, just someone who was the spitting image of him. He was quietly sipping on his drink, sitting between two men who seemed to be arguing with each other; one had long blonde hair and the other had short red hair. The one with red hair eventually left him and his blonde friend alone at the bar, and it was then that he finally looked up and met her gaze. 

Everything began in that single moment. After a few more drinks he had calmly gotten up and joined her on her side of the bar. They engaged in small talk, she discovered he was at the club on business, and that his name was Itachi, though he never gave her his last name, but by that point she was too buzzed to care. Sakura was getting more and more attracted to him by the minute, and with every drink the bartender passed her way she soon found herself unable to remember what her earlier misery had been about. The pink haired med student found herself inexplicably drawn to this man in front of her. She liked his long hair, his dark eyes, his olive skin, the stylish clothes he wore, his deep voice and his masculine persona. But most of all she liked how disarming his gaze was, and how whenever she spoke he looked at her like he was really _looking_ at her, listening to her. 

"Let's go back to my place," Sakura suddenly blurted, not caring one bit if she was being too forward with a man she had just met. She wasn't about to let him leave tonight without her. 

"That is, if you're not busy, or anything…" Sakura added, her cheeks turning a deep shade of pink, and she couldn't blame intoxication for it either. The thought suddenly struck her that he might have a girlfriend or wife even. _That would be just my luck… _She thought dryly. 

Itachi looked up at her from his drink, and then swiveled on his stool so he could face her completely. For a moment he simply stared into her wide emerald orbs, as if contemplating something very important, and then he spoke. 

"Are you sure about that?" 

_Does he __**really**__ need to ask? _"Of course I'm sure, why wouldn't I be?" A quizzical expression appeared on her face as she watched a corner of his mouth turn upwards in an amused smirk. 

"Because I'm the worst kind of man, Sakura," He leaned over so close to her that she could smell the alcohol on him, feel his breath on her ear and his hand that had tangled itself into her long roseate hair. She immediately leaned into his touch. 

"And a nice, innocent woman like you should be properly warned before you bring someone like me home with you," 

Itachi pulled away from her then and she felt herself unconsciously leaning forward, trying to maintain the heated proximity. His words strange, in her current state it was hard to tell if he was being flirty or serious. She chose to go with flirty. This man certainly had a way with her, though; even in her alcohol-induced haze she couldn't deny that fact. He would probably still have this power over her even if she was sober. 

"Besides, I might like it there so much I won't want to leave," The dark haired man told her, the smirk returning to his face. 

Sakura was done for after that. He paid both their tabs with cash and she all too eagerly led him back to her apartment, where they spent the weekend together, completely naked and wrapped in sheets. The weekend stretched into a week, and then two, and then three, and by the end of the first month Sakura could barely remember what had drawn her to Uchiha Sasuke in the first place. And after two months she found herself so used to Itachi's mysterious presence in her life that the words of warning that she assumed weren't true were completely forgotten. 

It took six months from that first night for Sakura to realize that Itachi always spoke the truth. 

* * *

**_A/N:_** Blah, I don't really care for this one much, I'll probably end up revising it pretty soon.

And yes, I totally threw in SasuHina XD So sorry if that made some of you cringe, but I happen to like the pairing, and I absolutely refuse to have NaruHina as a side pairing in any of these drabbles. No offense to anyone who likes that pairing- but you won't be finding any of it here. 

I will definitely be doing a follow up to this drabble though that will go more in depth about Itachi's "profession", since I don't think anyone would be able to figure it out from this one. But if you can, kudos to you! XD There's only so many shady occupations he could have in modern day Tokyo. Hint hint. ;)


	5. Honesty II

**_A/N: _**Happy belated Easter! :D

So I'm seriously considering maybe turning this drabble and #4 into a multichap... the plot bunnies for it won't leave me alone D: It's going to have to wait though, I wanna get through the rest of the drabbles first :D

And my characterization of Deidara sucks a big one... DX I apologize in advance.

A shout out to ArjunaAnju who guessed right on Itachi's "job" XD Tons of internet kudos for you! Though I must say I loved the idea of masked stripper Itachi XD Stripper Itachi needs more love!

Anyway, enough from me, enjoy!

_**Disclaimer:** Is ItaSaku canon? No. Therefore, Naruto doesn't belong to me._

* * *

"We should really take Itachi to the hospital, hm, that's a pretty nasty gunshot wound, hm,"

"It's Itachi-_san_; remember your rank, Deidara. And did you not see the police ambush back there? Do you forget what _family_ Itachi-san is from? They're probably swarming all the Tokyo hospitals now, expecting him to show up for treatment. He'll be just fine getting treatment at headquarters-"

"Take me to Sakura's."

All previous verbal sparring between the blonde haired driver and red-headed passenger that had been going on for far too long stopped as the raven haired man in the back seat finally spoke up. Itachi clutched his shoulder as dull throbbing radiated down his entire arm. A small pool of dark red blood was beginning to form on the seat below and Itachi was once again thankful for choosing to wear black clothes that day. The red head in the front seat glanced back at Itachi, as if to see if he heard correctly, and then turned back around to the driver, saying, "Well, you heard the man."

Deidara glanced at Itachi from the rear view mirror. "Are you sure about that Itachi-_san_," The blonde haired man added the emphasis while glaring at the red head next to him, "Isn't she still only a pre-med student, hm? And how are you going to explain that wound, hm? She doesn't seem to have much of a clue what it is we do, Itachi-san,"

A brief moment of silence passed in the speeding car before Itachi finally responded.

"An artist is nothing without his fingers, right Deidara?"

The underlying threat to Itachi's question caused the man in the driver's seat to stiffen his hold on the steering wheel and throw a _very_ nervous glance back at his superior. There was no need for Itachi to say anymore, as Deidara said nothing more on the subject and turned onto the road that would eventually take them to Sakura's apartment.

"This was the second time the police have been tipped off about our activities, the second time they knew exactly where to find us," The red head, Sasori, stated, after the tension from Itachi's previous statement died down. "Either there's an informant, or Fugaku has gotten good at tracking us,"

Itachi clenched his shoulder tighter at the mention of his father's name. How easily he had fired at his own son, his own flesh and blood, without any shame or remorse evident in the old man's eyes. He'd done it in front of Sasuke, too, no less. Not that this surprised Itachi- he had known of his fathers utter disregard for his oldest offspring for years, of the blame that was directed at him for his mother's death- but Sasuke had had no inkling, or if he had he didn't know how deep it ran.

"_Nii-san…. __**Why**_?"

The image of Sasuke's betrayed face flashed through his mind. He had never seen his younger sibling look so torn and confused before in his life. Their father, of course, could always be counted upon.

"_Because he has no regard for his family or his morals, the man you see before you now has only ever lived for himself, for his own greed and selfishness. He is the anti-thesis of everything the Uchiha stand for, Sasuke; now raise your weapon," _

Itachi smiled bitterly to himself. In the end it had been Sasuke who had saved him, who had kept his father from taking another shot.

"Damnit! A police car! Are you going to be ok, Itachi-san? We can still take you back to headquarters, hm," Deidara, who had temporarily parked the car on the other side of the street, turned in his seat to look back at Itachi. The injured man looked out the car window and quickly took note that there was only one police car, no one was inside it, and there was no one inside the cars parked around them. There was no relative danger in sight. His dark eyes looked up to the second floor apartment that belonged to Sakura.

"No, this is fine, I will contact you as soon as I'm able," The man told them and got out of the car. He walked briskly across the street, still clutching his injured shoulder, and headed around the back of the apartment building to the fire escape. He stood under it for a minute, just staring up at her apartment. Anticipation swept threw him briefly at seeing her again- it'd been a good week since he'd last been over- but was quickly negated by a tiny pang of dread and irritation. The peacefulness of her company, of their lives together in that small one bedroom apartment, was about to come to a crashing halt. Itachi grit his teeth as he started up the fire escape, the dull throbbing in his shoulder getting worse with every step he took up the ladder. How his father had gotten wind of his association with Sakura, he didn't know. He could only assume that he'd been too careless over the months to notice anyone tailing his movements.

When he reached the second story of the fire escape, Itachi sat down by the window and grabbed his shoulder again. His breathing was getting raged, and his vision was starting to blur. _Not good,_ Itachi thought and peered through a crack in the window's curtains to get a look inside. He saw a blur of pink sit up from one of the kitchen chairs, and then saw a clear view of the officer-clad man standing behind her.

It was Sasuke.

And he was just leaving, it seemed. Itachi was glad for that; he really didn't want to have to explain himself to the both of them. As soon as it looked clear to go in, Itachi slid the window open and crawled inside the small apartment's living room. Sakura, who had sat back down at the kitchen table, quickly stood up in alarm. Itachi stood to his full height, hand still clenched around his shoulder, and turned to face her.

She looked positively _pissed._ Not that he could blame her for that.

"Your brother was just here. Why didn't you tell me you were an Uchiha? That you were in the _Yakuza?_" Her emerald eyes flashed with fury and accusation. He began taking a few steps forward, but her hand flew out in front of her.

"Don't you _dare_ come any further until you give me some answers, _Itachi,_" She spat his name like it was poison. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked down at the floor, which was now getting soaked with his blood. He looked back up at her and saw two Sakura's glowering at him from the kitchen. Double vision was never a good sign.

"I told you I was the worst kind of man,"

Sakura scoffed at his reply, and his vision was starting to darken now. If he wasn't on the verge of unconsciousness he would have thought of something else to say to her, but his mind didn't want to work anymore so the truth was just going to have to suffice for now, if she didn't let him bleed to death on her living room floor anyway.

"I didn't want to ruin us,"

If she replied, he didn't hear it, because his mind shut off as soon as the words left his mouth and everything around him went black.

When he finally came to, he was surprised to find that Sakura hadn't let him die, hadn't turned him into his family, and instead had put him to bed and patched up his injured shoulder with the expert medical precision he knew she was capable of. He was also surprised to find her lying next to him, wide emerald eyes staring at him with a subdued sadness he really, really didn't like seeing there. His expression, of course, never gave away any of these thoughts.

"Why did you even talk to me that night?"

Another surprise.

Itachi briefly reflected on that night, how he had seen the loud blond friend of hers come on to her, how she had hit him, and how he had dejectedly wandered away. He recalled how miserable she had looked, sitting there alone.

"Because you reminded me of my old self, when I still lived as an Uchiha, considered myself an Uchiha. You looked completely alone and… _broken_,"

She gave him no response, and he made no move to look for one on her face. He knew that eventually this day would come, that she would find out about his "job" and that would be the end of things. How she had let not knowing his profession slide all this time confused the once proclaimed Uchiha prodigy a bit, but then he supposed maybe it was for the same reason why he was so vague about it in the first place.

Perhaps she didn't want them to end, either.

It was too late now, though. The truth was out, as was the reality of the situation. She had had a wanted criminal, a high ranking Yakuza member, living with her for the past few months. The police would be keeping a close eye on her now, and if she were to be discovered with him she would be carted off to prison right along with him. Itachi moved to get out of bed; the sooner he left the better for her.

Her small fingers wrapped gently around his arm, which caused him to pause in his movements. He turned his head and his onyx eyes met quiet, beseeching verdant ones.

"You should rest for atleast another day, so the stitches…." Her voice drifted off and the soft grip on his arm loosened. She looked away from his gaze, as if ashamed for asking.

They both knew what the request had really been. She wasn't ready to let go yet. And he'd be damned if he was ready to walk away from the calm she had given him these past months as well.

"Alright," He quietly agreed, and laid back down next to her on the bed.

One more night with her, with this peace he had found with her, and then he would walk away while she slept and not look back.


	6. Underneath the Underneath

**A/N: **Prepare yourselves for emotionallyunattached!KakaSaku as a result of ItaSaku. I hope you all still enjoy it though, even though there's not much ItaSaku in this one. Next one will have lots of them, promise XD

I've also been diligently working on "Prodigal", the multi-chap for #4 and 5. Expect the prologue/first chap soon! :D

_**Disclaimer:** Yeah... you probably get it by now. _

* * *

The news of Kakashi and Sakura's relationship shocked pretty much everyone in the village of Konoha, especially Naruto. It was a coupling that just didn't seem at all possible in his mind, and Naruto often found himself thinking back on their time together, dissecting every moment Team Kakashi had shared, trying to pin point if there was a romantic undertone between the two and he was simply too dense to notice after all this time.

Naruto's recall efforts, of course, were in vain. The loud blonde couldn't remember anything that could be construed as romantic between his ex-sensei and his old crush. He then assumed that it was probably just a fling, if anything. There was no way it could last… because, c'mon, it was _Kakashi-sensei_ and _Sakura-chan_.

Five years passed, and instead of drifting apart they ended up moving in together. This puzzled Naruto to no end, and the Kyuubi container could often be found complaining about it to Sasuke over a bowl of Ichiraku ramen or to the Godaime herself when given new mission assignments. Both of them could give him no solid answers, but the Godaime had a vague inclination as to the reasons behind the relationship of her favorite student and the much older copy-nin.

If Naruto looked underneath the underneath, he would discover that the relationship started only weeks after the death of the S-class missing-nin and Sakura's captor for two years, Uchiha Itachi. He would notice that if he observed their relationship both in public and in private, they did not act in a manner befitting most couples. In public they rarely made any physical contact at all, and in private…

They would hold hands and cuddle and have sex like any other couple, but there was a distinct difference between them and most other couples in their village. The deep seeded feelings of contentment, warmth, and love, were ever absent from their kisses and embraces. There was an emotional distance between them that would never be breached, and they were both fine with that. It was what they both wanted, what they both needed to have.

Sakura would turn a blind eye when Kakashi would be gone for days on end, knowing that it wasn't a mission he was carrying out. Likewise, he ignored the way she would cry for hours in bed while clutching a ring to her chest with the word "scarlet" engraved in the center. He would also ignore her absence on a certain day every year, knowing exactly the long since abandoned place she would be visiting.

If Naruto looked underneath the underneath, he would see that both Kakashi and Sakura were stuck in a past they didn't want to escape from, while facing a future they didn't want to embrace alone. He would understand why Kakashi spent hours in front of the memorial stone, or days sitting in the corner of a partially collapsed cave that was far from the welcoming lights of Konoha. He would understand why after Sakura returned from her two year absence, she never sought comfort from him, because Naruto would want too much of her, and why she never sought comfort from Sasuke, because he would never understand her or forgive her for the feelings she kept locked deep within.

Sakura sought out Hatake Kakashi because he would only give her half of himself, and never ask or need anything more. He understood her, and she understood him. They would never get married, they would never have kids, they might not even survive the dangerous S rank missions they both always volunteered for, but for now they had each other- for comfort, companionship, and a brief semblance of what they both had lost. It was as little of each other that they could give after losing what they truly loved.

And that was enough.


	7. Jealousy

**A/N:** Non-massacre AU. Which are very addicting to write, might I add... Anyway, some mild OOCness on Itachi's part, since it's non-massacre he's bound to be a little more normal XD

Enjoy!

* * *

Sakura let out a long, despondent sigh as she trudged up the stairs that led to her apartment. Goosebumps covered her skin as the cold night air effectively chilled her very exposed skin, her much too short clover colored dress had been the wrong choice for tonight's weather, but that really didn't matter to her anymore. The dress, along with her excessive flirting with the cute jounin Shiranui Genma while in the midst of her ex-boyfriend's presence at his favorite bar, had been integral in her plan to make him regret breaking up with her. The plan had back fired, however, and instead of getting overly invidious and approaching her, the handsome Uchiha clan heir had instead simply sauntered out of the bar, leaving even his close friend Shisui behind. It was a childish plan, she knew, but the news of his arrival after his long mission and the desire to get under his skin for his silence were too much for her to pass up.

She bit her lip while rummaging through her purse looking for her apartment keys in an attempt to somehow block the tears that wanted to fall. She had promised herself after his very abrupt departure three weeks ago that she wouldn't cry over how things had turned out with them. It was obvious to her that she had expected more from their relationship than he did, and his silence that day spoke volumes to her. The truth was, her feelings for the Uchiha heir were deeper than she had originally thought, and seeing him tonight in full ANBU gear and acting so typically nonchalant about everything just served as a reminder.

The door creaked open to her dark apartment and she turned around to shut and lock the door behind her when two large, gloved hands appeared on either side of her head to rest on the door, trapping her. Sakura slowly turned around, suddenly feeling very irritated at herself for not sensing his presence in her apartment sooner. But, this kind of stealth was to be expected from the highest ranking ANBU captain in Konoha. Glowing vermilion sharingan eyes bore down on her, his displeasure filling the air like pungent smoke.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, her strong voice hiding her intimidation for his dominating presence. His eyes narrowed.

"What is going on with you and Shiranui?"

Ah, always so straight forward. It was the Uchiha way.

"Just some harmless flirting is all, since I'm on the market again I think I'm entitled to a little bit of fun every now and then," The pink haired kunoichi responded and tried to move away from him but the strong gloved hand that latched onto her arm prevented her from doing so.

"You are not on the market. You were _never_ on the market after I took you,"

Sakura blushed despite herself, but quickly recovered, her eyes glaring something fierce at him. "Oh really? Because after you so silently left my apartment three weeks ago without even responding to my very important question I just assumed that things were over," She tried pulling her arm away but instead Itachi picked her up and flung her over his shoulder and started walking towards her bedroom, ignoring her cries of protest in his normal stoic way.

The older Uchiha threw her down onto the bed and climbed on top of her, effectively pinning her under him. Super strength wouldn't be an option if her limbs were immobile. His eyes bled from crimson back to their normal charcoal and he let out an uncharacteristic sigh before putting a hand over her mouth and staring intently down at her.

"I left so abruptly because I was already running late for my mission, for reasons which we are _both_ to blame," Her cheeks tinted pink again at the memory. "And I've already arranged for you to meet with the clan elders in regards to our engagement preparations. They will not deny you the position as my future wife because they have already been informed how miserable I will make their lives when I am finally declared clan head in a few weeks if they do, so you need not worry." The great Uchiha prodigy stared down at her, his expression unreadable as always. "Now would be the time for any objections, if you have them,"

She'd be lying if his revelations weren't a bit overwhelming; she'd been hoping for some kind of solid commitment between them, and this definitely exceeded her original ideas of what that would be. Not that she planned on saying no to him, though. At twenty-four years old and already the top Medic-nin in the village, she was very ready to settle down. Sakura shook her head and his lips turned upwards into a small smile.

"Good,"

Itachi removed his hand from her mouth and closed the distance between them, initiating a very deep kiss that sent waves of pleasure down her spine. Sakura let out a moan of discontent when he pulled away.

"Did you honestly think I would let you go once I had you, Sakura?" He asked, his lips hovering just centimeters above hers. She felt slightly embarrassed in light of the situation; she had severely misunderstood him and overreacted to his previous silence. Sakura suddenly felt very determined to make it up to him, and she knew just the way to go about it.

"I'm sorry, Itachi," Sakura said and caught his lips with her own. His knee shifted slightly and gave her an opening, which she happily took. Sakura easily flipped the villages' strongest ANBU captain and Uchiha clan heir onto his back and straddled his hips. His eyes almost instantaneously went from surprised to amused as he stared up at the long haired kunoichi smirking down at him.

"Let me make it up to you, Itachi-_sama_…"


	8. Denial

**A/N:** Using the crow thing again that was in #1. Enjoy :D

_**Disclaimer: **Is Itachi still alive? No. Therefore, I don't own Naruto T.T_

* * *

"Will five be enough, Kisame?"

"Tch, yeah I suppose. I'd rather fight _you_, but I guess your bunshin will have to do for now,"

"Perhaps tomorrow,"

"Yeah, yeah,"

The long haired Akatsuki member turned on his heels and glided across the surface of the vast lake to the shore, leaving his blue skinned partner alone with five of his crow bunshin at the center of the lake. He walked a far distance away from the body of water, knowing once his partner got warmed up the lake water be splashing well beyond the original shore line. Itachi took refuge on a branch in one of the highest trees, the lake still within his line of sight as well as his long time partner, who had already started having his fun with the bunshin. The sharingan user quickly estimated the bunshin could probably hold their own against the Samehada wielder for a decent two hours, perhaps more, in which case Kisame would expect another group of five from his stoic partner. This training could very well go on all day, but Itachi had already decided before they even started that he would only allow it to last four hours, due to a certain pink haired captive that was awaiting their return back at their temporary hideout.

It was also this certain pink haired captive that caused the Uchiha to decline on training today, choosing instead to close his eyes against the trunk of the tree and meditate and clear his thoughts of everything concerning jutsu's, the Akatsuki, Sasuke's eyes, his shishou, the captive of theirs…

But she wouldn't leave his thoughts. In fact, she was extremely stubborn and vexingly persistent in the way she would enter his mind and _not _leave, no matter how much Itachi tried to prevent his thoughts from drifting to her. This, among many other things about her, aggravated the stoic Uchiha to no end. Somewhere along the line during her captivity she had grown comfortable with them; she talked, she laughed, and she joked. Well, the joking she usually did around Kisame, but she still talked and laughed around Itachi. She would even go out of her way to converse with the sharingan user.

Lately he began picking up on a change in her body language towards him. Instead of closed off and agitated, like she was when she first arrived in their care, she had grown somewhat timid with him. He noticed she liked to stare at him when she thought he didn't notice, and the few times when he had caught her in the act she had looked away quickly and her cheeks flared bright red.

And to his greatest annoyance, he found himself checking up on her via his crows far more than was necessary. In fact, he had the urge to check at that very moment, but stubbornly refused the inkling. She was affecting him way too much, the lines between captor and captive were starting to blur, and Itachi knew he had get a hold of himself before anything happened. She was just a young Konoha-nin with ridiculous pink hair that they were only taking care of for the sake of completing their mission to catch the Kyuubi, the last bijuu that Akatsuki needed. With the way things were going, they wouldn't have any use for her for much longer.

"Itachi,"

The stern voice of his shishou called out to him from the other side of tree. Itachi's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. If he hadn't been so engrossed in thinking about his captive he would've felt Madara's presence far sooner.

"Shishou," Itachi acknowledged smoothly, opening his eyes and looking out at the large waves that were cutting through the waters surface. Kisame was clearly enjoying himself.

"You've grown soft, Itachi, normally I don't have to announce my presence to you,"

"I'm sorry, shishou; I have been a bit preoccupied today,"

Madara chuckled a bit behind him. "Worried about your eyesight? Or could it be you have been enjoying yourself too much with that pink haired kunoichi? Heh, no matter, she is actually what brings me out here today,"

Itachi wondered if the Kyuubi was close, but instead waited for his shishou to speak. The younger Uchiha felt Madara's chakra disappear momentarily, and then the man re-appeared in front of him, blocking his view of Kisame and the lake. The one eyed gaze of the older Uchiha regarded him from behind his trademark orange mask.

"We no longer have any purpose for her, so feel free to dispose of her any way you like, just make sure she's dead. When you've finished with that, you and Kisame must report back to Amegakure, there has been a change in plans regarding the capture of the Kyuubi,"

Itachi stood and nodded towards his shishou in confirmation. "Yes, shishou; I'll go deal with the kunoichi right now,"

"Very good,"

The younger sharingan user began his run through the trees towards the hideout, hearing a loud shout from his shishou's fake alter ego to his partner. "Kisame-sempai!! Can Tobi come play too?"

It didn't take long to get to the hideout, and it took even less time to find the pink haired kunoichi, thanks to his crows. She was in her room with her back to him, studiously going over the few medical books they had there. Her long roseate hair cascaded freely down her back, not held in place with a high ponytail like she usually styled it. She really did have a ridiculous hair color for a kunoichi.

"Sakura,"

The medic-nin jumped in her chair and turned around to regard the man in her doorway, her lips turned upwards in a smile and a bright rosy hue on her cheeks. Itachi's eyes narrowed at the sight. She quickly got out of her chair and while laughing a bit in embarrassment over being startled so easily, she started walking towards him, babbling about the incident that just occurred. Was she really going to make it this easy for him? _She's far too trusting…_ Itachi thought while allowing himself to frown.

"Itachi-san? Is something wrong?" Her emerald eyes were wide with curiosity as she looked up at him, the rosy tint still evident on her cheeks.

He'd been staring at her. For far too long.

His eyes narrowed again. Madara was right, he had gone soft. And she was to blame. He was going to end this quickly; he needed to be rid of her.

"I don't need you anymore,"

He activated his sharingan, and the three black tomoe's began spinning and bled together to form the sinister Mangekyou. Her verdant eyes widened and fear quickly displaced the earlier curiosity, but it was already too late for the kunoichi.

"Your stay here is over,"

--

Four weeks passed after Sakura had awoken in the Konoha hospital, surrounded by the worried faces of her friends and family. After the initial required questioning about her kidnapping by Tsunade, questions which she honestly didn't have any answers for, as the location of the hideout she stayed in and her purpose for being there was kept secret from her by her captors (though she had a feeling it had something to do with her loud, blonde friend with whiskers) , Sakura was discharged from the hospital only days later and almost immediately fell back into the routine she had before being held prisoner by the two Akatsuki members.

She spent the majority of her time at the hospital, putting in more hours than before she was kidnapped, busying herself with patients or studying or more medical training with Tsunade. Often times she would be sent home late at night by Tsunade, her shishou claiming she was becoming too much of a workaholic and she should go out and enjoy her youth while she still had it. Sakura always complied with her shishou's commands, even though she dreaded the thought of going home to her empty apartment.

On this particular night after being sent home, Sakura was looking out her window thinking of many different things, although a certain long haired Uchiha always managed to make it to the forefront of her thoughts while she was alone like this. Thoughts she really didn't want to think about or even acknowledge. It was then that she noticed the silhouettes of ten crows perched atop her neighbor's roof, all of them staring dutifully into her window, straight at her. An all too familiar pang ripped through her chest, and the pink haired medic-nin clutched the fabric of her shirt and clenched her jaw, tears stinging at her large emerald eyes. She looked away from the crows and down at the windowsill, her vision getting much too clouded.

"If you no longer need me, then why do you still watch over me, night after night?" She whispered to the crows, knowing she would receive no answer, that she would probably never receive an answer from them, or from him.


End file.
